You didn't mention why you wanted to get the rear door panel off, but I'm wanting to do that also. About two years ago, on my 2000 SEL, the side vinyl paneling started to peel off on both sides. My car sits all day in the sun so I guess the glue got loose. I used a glue to reattach it but it popped up again. I went to a shop and they want $150 to fix it using the same material already on the door. I decided that I could do it myself, but now the glue that I had used has made the material shrink up. It looks horrible on an otherwise perfect interior. I only drive it 6 miles a day (37,000 on it now). The whole car looks new. I may just have to part with the $150 and have it done right.

I too am willing to consider joining a class action if Ford is unwilling to fix the problem. Has anyone yet approached a dealer about this problem with the vinyl material coming loose from the rear doors on the Taurus?

I never even considered the dealer since it happened so long after I bought the car. I've had to fight to get other more important items fixed under warrenty so this small, but annoying problem didn't enter my mind to go to the dealer.

Like I mentioned in my previous answer, I got an estimate for $150 last year. Have done nothing so far but I hate looking at the blank panels every day! :confuse:

I just found this thread!! Same problem here - rear door, vinyl/leather/whatever is peeling off of door. I have a 2000 Sable Wagon. Other side hasnt gone yet, but I can see top is loosening. I tried to glue, but it didnt work very well. Shriveled vinyl a bit, and you cant get a good bond because there is porous polyurethane foam (thin layer) on both sides of what youre trying to glue. It just makes an otherwise very nice looking car look like a beater. Has ANYONE had any luck at the dealer OR a shop???

we also have the same problem with peeling door panels on our 2002 Ford Taurus.I have contacted the Ford Customer Relations via phone, received a case number and have sent a letter to them along with pictures. I have asked Ford to reimburse for the cost of replacement which was done by the dealer to the tune of about $350-400 for each door. Have not heard back yet.

I have the same problem with peeling leather. Since it started on my rear doors, and I never have any passengers back there I knew it was some design issue.

This of course raises the question on why anyone would intentionally glue leather patches on a plastic car door.

A Sable/Taurus isn't some high end luxury car that is kept out of direct sun every moment it isn't on the road and looked after by an employee who has interior leather care as one item on their regular detailing regiment.

The plastic door panel had to be a hint.

Someone had to know what would happen.

It is just like when the all plastic proprietary headlight switch knob broke and cost me $20 at the dealership (replacing it myself). Can you believe they wanted to give me a quote for the labor?

I had this problem with my 2002 Taurus. One side starting coming loose last year. Both sides started coming off this summer when the heat was at its worst. I found a Interiors and Convertible Top shop in Raleigh, NC that fixed both doors for $60. They removed the panels, removed all of the cheap foam behind the panels (this is what falls apart and cause the problem), and they used an adhesive to re attach the panels. They look just fine now. It seems the trick is to get all of the old foam off of the panel before you try any type of adhesive.

I'm envious of the $60 price you paid. I've just had two rear door panels repaired (the vinyl was coming away, as you said, because of the foam backing was deteriorating). My bill: $140 (northern virginia).

I have an 01 Sable, same issue. After looking at the panels missing the covers for 2 years, I went to Lowes and got a small sample of custom paint by bringing in the vinyl. I sanded most of the hard glue off with a detail sander and painted it. It is not like having the cover on it, but looks hellava lot better. I had inquired about it at the dealer, but they just blew me off and told me I had to order 2 entire new door panels as the don't sell covers. Total cost was 30.00 for sander and 4.00 for paint.

I have a 2001 Taurus SES with the same problem. I went to a ford dealer and was told that the panels could not be repaired. Just the panels alone would cost approximately $336.00 for the LR and approximately $395.00 for the RR panel. Count me in for the class action law suit.

I just bought a 2000 Sable LS Premium. The Sunroof switch intermittantly works.Sometimes it won't open and sometimes it won't close. If I fiddle with it, eventually it closes.I tried to order a switch from Direct Ford On Line but they sent me a combo dome light switch. So my thinking now is that the sunroof was an aftermarket addition.Any ideas where I can get a replacement switch?It is a stand alone toggle switch in front of the opening.

Same problem, 2000 Mercury Sable. The former leatherette hangs down like elephant ears. Some loosening of the drivers side covering as well. At 135K miles I don't expect a company fix is likely. Haven't really explored any diy solutions yet.

The problem (and we hope Ford is aware of this and taken corrective action) is that the foam sponge backing to the vinyl 'decomposes' which allows the vinyl to slip out from behind the mounting strips. My local car upholstery repair shop (in northern Virginia) replaced the vinyl (without a sponge backing) on my 2000 Taurus for $75 each rear door.

I have a 2001 Sable, 90,000 mles, increasingly getting harder to start when engine is cold. At first I had to crank 2 long times to get it started. Now it takes 3. Once the engin is hot, I fires just fine with 1 short crank. I do have a check engine light, code indicates the loss of a vacuum seal to the gas tank (P1451). However warning light came on 6 months, The problem starting has happened recently

So I just finished fixing all four of the vinyl panels attached to the door panels on my 2003 Taurus SEL. I had the same problem, the leather/vinyl material was pealing off on all four panels. An additional problem was that one of the panels had starting warping away from the door.

This "tutorial" was great, but my fix was a little more simple. I didn't have the carpet between the panel and the leather/vinyl material. I just had the spray on foam.

So all I did was yank each panel off (careful because the long panels like to snap in half!). Then I cleaned the edges of each panel and each piece of vinyl/leather, scrapping off the spray-on foam then scrubbing the edge with a little rubbing alcohol. I made sure they dried and then I bought a couple hundred clothespins (50 for a $1 at Walmart), and 3-4 bottles of Loctite super glue (15 second dry time; $4 at Walmart). I used clamps (don't need to buy if you don't have them) to clamp the material to the panel as I went along and laid super glue, then pinched the material together with the clothespins, as shown in savetheland's photos.

I let it dry over night. I pushed the panels back onto and adhered them to the door using UGlu strips (from Walgreens, price ??) That might have been a bad idea, but so far the strips have worked great to hold the panels back on. And the adhesive was strong enough to "de-warp" the warped panel I had.

For me, this was definitely worth it over spending $50-150 per door for a shop to do it for you.

I bought Liquid nails for home projects which drys clear - I put a very thin line of glue 1/4 inch from the outside of the trim - tucked the leather back into place and then put a very thin piece of cardboard in the crack overnight - Looks good